"Willaby!" Ren cried out in alarm. Closing his eyes the little paladin reached out to his nightmarish mount.

"What do you see, Willaby? Are you okay?"

Lady Caprice raised a slender hand to shine her colorful light upon the great bas relief depicting the blindfolded angel triumphant in battle.  She noted the curious mount depicted in the relief, then glanced sidelong at Lulu.  Caprice asked the hollyphaunt lightly, "Lulu, darling?  Were you ever a touch larger, perhaps?"

To discover that the dead knights interred all around them were oath-bound to servitude beyond death was an unnerving revelation, to say the least.  Elsbeth was upset by this, as was to be expected.  Lady Caprice considered and then said, "One wonders whether the knights themselves swore to serve beyond death, or if the matter was decided for them postmortem..."  (OOC: did the names on the papers seem to be written by the same hand, or were they different enough to surmise that each knight wrote their own names in their own blood?)  The journals of Olanthius provided further revelations, but all contemplations were interrupted when Darkwing heard the sounds of hoofbeats and the tomb doors rumbling open!

Rising to readiness, Lady Caprice said, "We may need not look far for General Olanthius, after all.  Perhaps he has found us first."  She sauntered to the entrance to the great hall and looked down the long, casket-lined corridor, and stood out in the open to greet whomever may appear.  Lady Caprice declared, "We shall greet our visitors, but we must be prepared in the case of hostilities.  Sir Ren and madame Elsbeth flank the doorway, would you my darlings?  Lulu, with me."  Lady Caprice stood tall and graceful in the center of the great hall, ready to greet their visitors with that bewitching smile of hers.  Whether that smile was delivered with courtesy or with destruction, would remain to be seen.

OOC: Suggesting that Elsbeth and Ren take either side of the doorway and be ready to hold there while Lady C stands back into the room (with Lulu) to address the new arrivals.  DW can hide as he likes :)

Of course.  It’s not like they could hide their vehicle, so someone coming to investigate made sense.  She just hoped it wasn’t Mr. Rotting Vegetation.

Her first thought was more Wereboars.  In that case, flanking the doors would have been her choice as well.  She was already moving that direction when Caprice made the comment.  What she hadn’t considered was they might be friendly.  In that case, Ms. Nathaire could handle any negotiations.  Elsbeth would be in position to keep whatever it was from entering the room.

Take up a flanking position on the hallway entrance.  Elsbeth has the Sentinel feat if anything tries to rush the room.

"Clearly, whoever is here knew the pass phrase to open the doors, but it is better to be prepared for trouble than to assume they are friendly." DW reminded them then disappeared in to the shadows of the far corner. He sent R.O.B.I.N. to Caprice's side to defend her if attacked.


10:31, Today: Darkwing rolled 28 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 20.  Stealth.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:34, Fri 13 Nov 2020.

Elsbeth was amazed as DW disappeared.  She felt he was still there somewhere but couldn’t see him.  “It’s like he was born to the darkness.”  She muttered.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Fri 13 Nov 2020.

Ren's nightmarish steed arrived at his side, more smoke than usual puffing forth from its nostrils as if it had come in a hurry.

Everyone could hear it now, heavy footfalls moving determinedly but in no particular hurry towards the chamber the party now occupied.

Sorry I've been slow getting this encounter together. Just about ready now. Please let me know the coordinates where you'd like to start on this map. The objects on the east side are the four memorial steles. The room to the north is the study where you found Olanthius's journals. The corridor to the west is the direction from which you hear the footsteps approaching.

Ren hasted to where he'd been bidden by Lady Nathaire and clutched tightly to The Hidden Lord. B7

"I'm ready," he assured, though for what exactly he was not yet certain.

Elsbeth takes cover at b9

Lady Caprice stood out in the open, albeit behind her warrior companions, hands on hips and aglow with twinkling multi-colored light.

---

Standing proud in D8 and lit up like a fabulous beacon with the Light cantrip!

Darkwing stays hidden in the shadows (F14) and sends R.O.B.I.N. to sit obediently by Lady Caprice's side, ready to defend her if needed (D7).

The party braced for trouble, the air in the crypt growing more tense as each heavy footstep rang through its stone corridors. Olanthius had surely been a great warrior in life, to earn a spot as one of Zariel's most trusted generals. What was he capable of in death, if considered the sanctity of his final resting place violated?

The footsteps sounded ever closer, but when their source finally came into view, it was in the form of a black-armored figure bearing a flaming sword: not Olanthius, but Haruman. The evil general laughed. "Thank you for opening Olanthius's study for me. He had the foresight to shield it against me, but not against a well-intentioned member of our order. Well, you know what they say about good intentions."

He laughed again and pointed a plated finger at the stele behind Caprice. Spectral hands reached out from it, grasping at her and ROBIN. Then he raised his flaming black sword and prepared to fight.

As he did so, the party heard another voice. "Take heart! I sense that Haruman has entered my sanctum, and I will arrive to put an end to his meddling as quickly as I can. Hold your position, and do not allow him to enter my study. I have faith in you, heroes!"

Everyone roll initiative! If you beat a 16, you can post your action now. Otherwise, please wait until after Haruman acts.

Haruman is an extremely tough enemy. Your goal here is not necessarily to kill him, just to hold out until Olanthius arrives. The lower his HP, the fewer attacks he'll get each round.

Caprice, please make a DC 18 Dex save. If you succeed, you take 5 necrotic damage. If you fail, you take 10 necrotic damage and cannot regain HP until the start of your next turn.

Good luck!

Elsbeth opts to wait for him to come to them.

(That statement may or may not have been influenced by her Init roll of 3.)

Darkwing's skin chilled as General Haruman's words echoed through the chamber. It wasn't a chill of fear, but one of anticipation. His heart raced at the thought of punishing one that succumbed to the corruption of power. The vigilante darted so he could see the General and fired a carefully aimed shot from his repeating bow. "Your greed for power will be your downfall!" he exclaimed, as the magical bolt flew through the entrance.


Init: 25
Move: F8
Bonus Action: Cunning Action - Aim
Action: Ranged Attack (20 To Hit, 22 Damage) *Adjusted damage since I forgot to remove the Drop Lowest flag


11:40, Today: Darkwing rolled 25 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 20.  Inititative.
12:13, Today: Darkwing rolled 20 using 2d20+9, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 11,10.  Ranged Attack (Aim).
12:14, Today: Darkwing rolled 18 using 3d6+6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 6,6,4.  Damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:24, Tue 17 Nov 2020.

Lady Caprice could not deny that Haruman made for a fearsome presence, but she would not be cowed by this blackguard!  She smiled and greeted him, "Ah, Haruman.  How lovely to see you.  After such vociferous denunciation of treachery, and here you are.  The grandest traitor of them all.  How very typical."  Spectral hands reached from the stele behind her and drained away her life essence, but she held strong.  She then quipped, "What is it you seek in Olanthius's study, hm?  A catalogue of your failures in deed and of character?"

---

• Initiative 10
• Dex save 5, take 10 necrotic damage and no healing!  Bio line updated
• Standing ready with a 4th-level Counterspell in case Haruman casts something unpleasant at us!

09:29, Today: Caprice Nathaire rolled 5 using 1d20+2.  Dex save.
09:28, Today: Caprice Nathaire rolled 10 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.

Ren made a warding gesture against evil and then moved to block Haruman's advance.

"You'll have to get through me first!" he vowed from behind the bulwark of the Hidden Lord.

Initiative 22. Ignore the comment. My brain wasn't working. The modifier is correct.

13:49, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 22 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 19.  Dex save.

Ren casts Protection from Evil on himself

Move to B8

Haruman chuckled at Ren's bold declaration. "Ah yes, the brave little man." He raised a gauntleted hand, and a vortex of necrotic energy spiraled in his palm.

But Caprice raised a hand of her own, and as quickly as the energy appeared, it vanished. That got under Haruman's skin, or whatever he had beneath that black plate mail. "Impudent witch," he said, his voice deep and menacing.

His annoyance deepened when Darkwing managed to lodge an arrow in the joint between two plates of armor at his shoulder. "Fools," he muttered, shaking his head.

Actions from Caprice and Elsbeth only now, please. FYI Caprice the hands reaching out from that stele are still there. Getting more than 5' from the structure will put you out of their range.

Also Darkwing you technically moved into their range. I think you didn't have other options to get line of sight on Haruman right now, but if I'm missing something, you're free to relocate, since I didn't make clear that would be the case.

She wanted to rush him and shove her sword through that smug mouth of his, but she heard a voice.  Take heart, Hold your position.  The order tempered her anger and gave her hope.  She shifted to take Ren’s original spot.  It would be easier for her to interpose herself between Harumen and the study.  She took a potion and quaffed it.  A gift from Ren, hopefully put to good use.  Then she readied her blade should he get past the halfling.

“For glory”. She said to herself.

Move to B7

Action Drink Potion of Str

Darkwing fired another well placed arrow at Haruman then moved out of range of the spectral hands. "Robin, aid the front line," he commanded his faithful defender. ROBIN obeyed and moved to the halfling's left, prepared for combat.


Bonus Action: Cunning Action - Aim
Action: Ranged Attack (26 To Hit, 21 Damage)
Move: F11

11:47, Today: Darkwing rolled 26 using 2d20+9, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 17,8.  Ranged Attack (Aim.
11:47, Today: Darkwing rolled 21 using 3d6+6 with rolls of 5,4,6.  Damage.


ROBIN (15 ac, 20/25 hp, 40' mv)
==================================
Action: Dodge
Move: B9
Reaction: Deflect Attack (if applicable)

Deflect Attack.:

The defender imposes disadvantage on the attack roll of one creature it can see that is within 5 feet of it, provided the attack roll is against a creature other than the defender.

Ren held his ground, his longsword wavering in the air before him as he steeled himself to meet the general's charge. No matter what else might happen, he told himself, Haruman could not be allowed to advance on Lady Caprice.

"Brave enough," he whispered in reply.

Readied attack: 11. I presume a miss even if Haruman advances within range.

15:21, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 11 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 4.  Readied attack.

Lady Caprice expected Haruman would try to unleash some terrible spell upon them, and so she was ready.  The moment the vortex of dark energy began to form in the undead traitor-general's gauntlet, she tore it from the weave like an ugly tapestry from a wall.  His annoyance brought a laugh to her painted lips, and she quipped back, "Impudent hardly covers it, darling."

For all of her bravado, Lady Caprice recognized Haruman to be a formidable foe that might very well be capable of slaying the lot of them.  Perhaps Olanthius would come to their aid or perhaps not, but either way she would prefer this threat neutralized quickly and decisively.  Lady Caprice focused her will upon Haruman, working to reshape the very nature of his being and transform him into something else.  This spell was a gamble and would test the limits of her arcane ability, but she firmly believed that fortune favors the bold!

---

• Move to C8
• Cast Polymorph on Haruman, and he needs to make a DC 16 Wis save!  If he fails, he is transformed into a sheep, a la Warcraft :)  Lasts for 1 hour (concentration)

https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/polymorph
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/sheep
This message was last edited by the player at 21:32, Wed 18 Nov 2020.

Elsbeth drank her potion. Caprice attempted to polymorph Haruman, but the black knight laughed it off. Darkwing lodged another arrow between two plates of armor, then vanished deeper into the chamber, sending his steel hound to delay Haruman's advance.

Zariel's general did not let him off so easily, though. At his command, two armored skeletal warriors emerged from the stele behind which the rogue had taken cover and surrounded him, thrusting their swords with jerky motions that would have embarrassed the warriors they once were. (That's a 13 and 14 to hit, which I assume both miss).

Shaking his head at the incompetence of his undead minions, Haruman raised his own sword in two hands. Iridescent black flame danced up and down the length of his blade as he brought it down in a powerful overhand slash at Ren. ROBIN intervened with a mechanical bark and a snap of his steel teeth, and the swing went awry. The knight attacked twice more, but Ren stopped the first with his shield and ducked the second. "Cowardly weasel!" Haruman bellowed in frustration as he deflected a counter-attack from the halfling.

Don't get cocky, gang. Haruman's rolls were garbage this round. He's scary, I swear! At least he didn't get sheeped.

Everyone has an action now.

"Get ready, Elsbeth!" Ren shouted above the fray. As Haruman's sword cut through the air above his head Ren charged between the general's legs and came up swinging behind him. Pincered between the two warriors, Haruman could not keep his attention fully on either and Ren exploited the general's confusion to the best of his ability.

Move behind Haruman.
Attacking with advantage from flanking
1) Hits AC 19 for 11 magical silver slashing damage
2) Hits AC 22 for 11 magical silver slashing damage

IF either one of those hits, Ren will smite for an additional: 9 radiant damage (brutal roll)

09:48, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 9 using 4d8 with rolls of 3,2,2,2.  Smite.
09:46, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 11 using 1d8+6 with rolls of 5.  Damage.
09:46, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 11 using 1d8+6 with rolls of 5.  Damage.
09:46, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 9 using 1d20 with rolls of 9.  Halfling Luck.
09:45, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 22 using 2d20+7, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,15.  Attack (flanking).
09:45, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 19 using 2d20+7, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 11,12.  Attack (flanking).

Spying Darkwing's plight through the forest of flailing limbs, Ren gave a sharp whistle. "Willaby! Go help Darkwing!"

The nightmare stomped its feet, threw back its head and charged!

Willaby charges, hitting AC 22 for 10 damage.

Trampling Charge. If the horse moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a hooves attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the horse can make another attack with its hooves against it as a bonus action.

Regardless of whether the skeleton gets knocked prone however, the trample misses (natural 1).

09:51, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 7 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 1.  Trample.
09:51, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 10 using 2d6+4 with rolls of 4,2.  Damage.
09:51, Today: Sir Ren Hawthorne rolled 22 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 16.  Willaby charge.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:53, Thu 19 Nov 2020.

Her pupils expanded as she felt the potion’s effects take hold to give her strength.

As the power flowed into her body, she raised the family sword and whispered to it. “Du’Crey”.  A soft flash of blue light burst forth from the blade and her hair flowed out as if from an unseen wind.

Elsbeth turned the corner with a deadly serious look in her eyes and stated.  “You are no Hellrider.”  She stepped in on him and took a powerful swing aimed just below his grip on the sword at his wrists.

The ancient commander saw it coming, adjusted his angle and parried.

“You are a disgrace.” She followed the momentum for her second swing bringing the blade around to target his upper arm of his weapon hand.  She connected, but he held on.

From somewhere deep inside, she felt the Hellriders.  Maybe it was a need to strike back for those strung up to endure an eternity of pain.  She continued her assault.

“For my brethren...”Her third slash was off, but she corrected turning it into a thrust into his shoulder.

“I judge you unworthy.”Her final blow came down as a cut across the torso hoping to blow through his guard and send the blade to the ground.

Note to self: Nova - Goal 100
Potion Frost Giant Strength Str 23
Bonus Action: activate Sword to give +5 temp hps and Advantage on attacks this round
Action: Attack1 Hit 18 for 31 damage and must make Str save vs DC17 or be disarmed
 MISS due to Haruman’s reaction.

Attack2 Hit 25 for 26 damage and Str Save or Disarmed
  Haruman rolled 25 and Saved

Trigger Action Surge
Action: Attack3 Rolled 16+2Precision for Hit for 25 damage

Attack4 Hit 22 for 31 damage and Str save or be Disarmed
  Haruman rolled 19 and Saved

AC 18  HP 61/61 +5Temp Hps
 BONUS ACTION: Extra melee attack if Crit or Drop enemy to 0hps
0/1 Human Determination, gain Advantage, Short Rest
1/5 Battle Master Maneuvers (d8) Short Rest
 REACTION: Riposte Or Parry
1/1 Second Wind, Heal 1d10+8, Bonus Action, Short Rest
0/1 Action Surge, +1 Action, Short Rest
0/1 Sword of Du'Crey Long Rest
1/3 Lucky 3/3 Long Rest
4/8 Healing Dice Long Rest (restore 1/2 with long rest)

This message was last edited by the player at 16:36, Fri 20 Nov 2020.

"Do you regret this foolishness yet, Haruman?"  Lady Caprice extended her hands and magic flared into incandescent hues within her palms.  She sent the twin bolts of force lancing toward the undead warrior, and one punched through his armor with a CLANG!

Lady Caprice glanced over her shoulder toward Darkwing, who was beset by skeletons.  Not wanting to give Haruman the satisfaction of thinking he was troubling them, she spoke to the caped crusader telepathically, ~Are you quite alright back there, darling?~

---

• Eldritch Blast vs. Haru-manchild!  Two attacks:
  1. Miss 13 AC
  2. Hit 26 AC for 9 force damage!

10:20, Today: Caprice Nathaire rolled 9 using 1d10+5.  Eldritch Blast 2 damage.
10:20, Today: Caprice Nathaire rolled 13,26 using d20+8,d20+8 with rolls of 5,18.  Eldritch Blast attacks 1 & 2.

Darkwing was surprised when the two skeletal warriors surrounded him, but he evaded their incoming. He dropped his bow as he drew his short sword and lashed out at the skeleton to the north. His strike went wide and clanged against the wall. ~I'll be fine, just a bit rusty with the sword,~ he replied to Caprice in his mind.

00:09, Today: Darkwing rolled 8 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 1.  Melee Attack .